Samuel Carrington Means (1828–1891) was the founder and first

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the

Loudoun Rangers The Loudoun Rangers, also known as Mean's Rangers for their commander, Samuel C. Means, was a partisan cavalry unit raised in Loudoun County, Virginia, that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. The Rangers have the distinction of ...

, a

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

unit from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

that served during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Means was a successful gristmiller and businessman from

Waterford, Virginia Waterford is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in the Catoctin Valley of Loudoun County, Virginia, located along Catoctin Creek. Waterford is northwest of Washington, D.C., and northwest of Leesburg. The entire vill ...

, with several ties through his business to

Point of Rocks, Maryland Point of Rocks is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,466. It is named for the striking rock formation on the adjacent Catocti ...

, where he was station master for the

B&O Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

. After the secession of Virginia in May 1861,

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

authorities began to court him over the use of his mill (the largest in

Loudoun County Loudoun County () is in the northern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. In 2020, the census returned a population of 420,959, making it Virginia's third-most populous county. Loudoun County's seat is Leesburg. Loudoun C ...

). An erstwhile

quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

and with considerable interests in loyal

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, Means was a unionist and would have none of it. Consequently, the Confederates issued warrants for his arrest forcing Means to flee to Maryland on July 1, 1861 leaving his family behind. Subsequent to his fleeing, the Confederate government seized all his property and assets in Virginia, including 28 horses, 42 hogs, 2 wagons all the flour and meal at his mill. When Union forces under

John Geary John White Geary (December 30, 1819February 8, 1873) was an American lawyer, politician, Freemason, and a Union general in the American Civil War. He was the final alcalde and first mayor of San Francisco, a governor of the Kansas Territory, and ...

invaded Loudoun in March 1862, Means served as a scout for the force. For his service,

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

Edwin M. Stanton Edwin McMasters Stanton (December 19, 1814December 24, 1869) was an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. Secretary of War under the Lincoln Administration during most of the American Civil War. Stanton's management helped organize ...

issued him a captaincy with permission to raise a company of cavalry for border service in Loudoun and Maryland. The resulting Loudoun Rangers served as partisans in Loudoun for much of the war, but were eventually mustered into regular service leading to Means' departure from the unit over the issue in 1864.

References

* * 1828 births 1891 deaths Loudoun County in the American Civil War People from Waterford, Virginia Union Army officers {{US-mil-bio-stub